I met someone for the first time recently, and in the course of talking to them I was asked “so what do you like? What are you into?”

This is, of course, an incredibly standard sort of question you might be asked when meeting a person, and my typical response that I really like musical theatre and football left me feeling like I should have something better to say, or at least more to say. In the moment I struggled to come up with anything else. With that in mind, I thought I might brainstorm a list of things I love:

Music

Theatre

Musical Theatre

Football

Politics

Public Policy

Puns

Late Night Meandering Conversations

Listening to Other People Talk About Their Passions

Looking at the Stars

When I’m Having a Bad Day and My Friends Randomly Text Me Out of the Blue

Hugs

Laughing Until I Cry

Being Dry While It Rains Around Me

Randomly Singing With Friends

Karaoke

Pizza

Deep Conversations About BIG Things, About Ideas and Truth and truth and Who We Want to Be

Burritos

Seeing My Friends Do Amazing Things

Volleyball

Key Changes

Books by David James Duncan

Buddhism

Pugs

The Kind of Thoughtful Silence Where Friends Sit Together and Are Content

Poems

Scrabble

It’s an incomplete list, but it’s a start.

In the wake of Orlando, and in the wake of so many mass shootings and tragedies I wonder sometimes what the hell I am doing to make things any better. What can I do right now? I can contact officials, sign petitions, work to raise awareness or volunteer or donate funds, I can finish this degree and hopefully be in a position to create the kind of world we want to live in. I can engage and talk with people more. I can stand up for what I believe in, do my best to live in a way that aligns with my values and ideals. It’s not easy, and sometimes you just feel so helpless. We have to keep working, though.

To all my LGBTQ* friends, I support you. I stand with you. I will make every effort to be a better ally tomorrow than I am today, to not only speak in platitudes but to have my actions reflect my words as well. To my Muslim friends, know that I stand with you as well – the actions of a few do not represent the hearts of many. To all, I hope that we can stand up with love in the face of hate. To harness that love and turn it into action.

I had a thought while watching some of the Tony Awards this evening. It’s been over 4 years since my last show (shouts to A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum) and I found myself wondering how I let life get in the way of something that brings me so much joy. I’m going to try to be better going forward. One step at a time.